Jonna a childrens bicycle Master Degree Project by Bernhard Sandqvist Master of Fine Art in Design - Child Culture Design HDK - School of Design and Crafts, University of Gothenburg 31/05/13 a CCD masters degree project by Bernhard Sandqvist Bernhard Sandqvist University of Gothenburg, School of Design and Crafts (HDK) MA Program in Design, CCD, 120 HP Curse: DEMCD5 – Master Degree Project Course, Child Culture Design – 30 hecs Spring semester 2013 Course director: Eva Engstrand Examiner: Johnny Friberg Tutor: Karl-Henric Klockars Opponent: Maria Markovic Date of examination: 31 may 2013 Abstract This project concerns children´s bicycles and gender. The market for children´s bicycles is currently very gender specific and tend to strengthen and uphold the traditional gender structures in society by consistently designing and marketing bicycles towards specific genders. The goal of the project has been to investigate and analyze gender issues and bicycles for children and trying to find a design solution that will be attractive to all individuals regardless of gender. Detta projekt omfattar barncyklar och genus. Marknaden för barncyklar är för närvarande mycket könsspecifika och tenderar att stärka och upprätthålla den traditionella genusordningen i samhället genom konsekvent design och marknadsföring av cyklar mot specifika kön. Målet med projektet har varit att undersöka och analysera genusfrågor och cyklar för barn och försöka hitta en designlösning som kommer att vara attraktiva för alla indevider oavsett kön. 2 Table of content Introduction 4 1. Background. 4 1.1 Area of concern 5 1.1.2 Terminology 5 1.1.3 Children´s bicycles 6-7 1.2 Scope of the problem area 8 1.3 The problem 8 1.4 Goals and objectives 8 2. Theory and method 9 2.1 Practical feasibility study 9 2.1.2 The need for non gender stereotyped bicycles for children 10 2.1.3 Bicycles, gender and design 11-14 2.1.4 Ergonomics and bicycle riding 15 2.1.5 laws and regulations 15 2.1.6 Workshop & Target group analysis 16-20 2.1.7 The future 20 3. Results 21 3.1 Arguments for design solution 21 3.2 Sketch and design process 21 3.2.1 Sketch phase 1 21 3.2.2 Sketch phase 2 22 3.2.3 Sketch phase 3 23 3.2.4 Final Result concept 24-25 3.2.5 Model/Prototype 26-27 3.3 Conclusion 26-27 3.4 The protptype 28-29 4. Discussion 30 4.1 Design issue 30 4.2 Relevance to stakeholders 31 4.3 Sustainability 32 5. Acknowledgments 33 6. Bibliography & Reference list 34 7. Picture Index 34 8.1 Appendix 35 8.2 Appendix 36 3 Introduction This project is the culmination of master studies at the Child Culture Design program and has its foundation in an interest in product and industrial design focusing on children as target group and end users. This interest, combined with my own experience as a parent and consumer, has led me to make a project focusing on bicycle design and gender. Armed with curiosity and creativity, I threw myself into a new world, trying to solve a problem by designing a bicycle for children, not a gender. Keywords: Children, bicycle, non gender specific, attractive, covet 1. Background The project has it’s origins in a personal experience. I was in the process of buying a new bicycle for my daughter who was nine years old at the time. I was surprised by the limited and extremely gender stereotypical products I encountered. The bikes were clearly divided between the genders both by color and design as well as labeling them “Girl´s bikes” or “Boy´s bikes”. I felt that this did not reflect what I as a parent and customer wanted for my child and it did not reflect what my daughter wanted. I wondered why it looked like this and asked the store clerk. The answer I got was “it’s what the customers want” . I asked my self, is it truly so. Am I the only one who think this is strange? Why does it look like this? With these questions in mind I start my thesis project. 4 1.1 Area of concern 1.1.2 Terminology For further understanding of the work I here describe some of the terms that recur in the thesis. Gender Is a range of physical, mental and behavioral characteristics distinguishing between masculinity and femininity. In the humanities and social sciences gender is a concept that is used to understand and distinguish the beliefs, ideas and actions that combine to shape people’s social gender. Heteroaromativity Is about sexuality as directly linked to sex. It’s a heterosexual norm that controls the sex and gender that the person we love should have. According to it, a man should look and behave like a man and love a woman that looks and behaves like a woman and vice versa. It is the prevailing norm in society today. Androgynous Meaning in this case that something is neither male, female nor neutral but rather something that incorporates both male and female attributes. Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as “a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child majority is attained earlier” When it comes to children´s bicycles they span the ages from approximately three to 16 . Tween A person who is between nine and twelve years old. Tween refers to being in-between child and teen. 5 1.1.3 Children´s bicycles After analyzing the market for bicycles for children in Sweden it is clear that there is a lack of gender neutral or androgynous products. The market is very conservative and is following the gender stereotyped traditions of most products for children. This might be because they are stuck in old tracks and ways that are hard to break or just a fear of launching products that do not clearly show the consumer what it is; why take a chance on something new and untried when the old works? Or maybe it is a combination of them both. One can argue that there are culturally entrenched heteronormatic ideals that form the basis for the kind of design that characterizes the market. The boys bikes were sporty and had traditional straight diamond frames as well as traditional colors such as blue, green and black with decorations signaling speed, strength and aggression while the bikes for girls had soft shapes and traditional open frames and had a focus on practical and relaxed use, with colors such as pink, purple and white with a decor of flowers or organic shapes signaling cute, slow and practical. These characteristics or gender markers can also be seen in the names of the products. Boy´s bicycles have names like: Torn, Thunder, Voltage and Gang. Girl´s bikes have names as: Saga, Horse, Cutie, Tiara, Superstar and Belle. These names reflect gender structure and the way girls and boys are seen, boys are to be tough, strong and aggressive while girls are supposed to be cute, beautiful and calm. Below is a list of some of the gender markers from these products. source: http://www.monark.se/cyklar/#filter=junior&product= Screenshot from Monarks website (20-3-2013) 6 Female Male Open frame Diamond frame Soft shapes Angular shapes Wide and soft seats Thin hard seats Light colors Dark colors Functional Sporty Slow Speed Upright handlebars (for upright riding posture) Strength Single speed(one gear) or three gears Aggression Basket Flat handlebars Luggage carrier Gears, 7-21 Fenders No fender some times small back mudguard Coaster brake (foot brake) Rim Brake/disc brakes (Hand brakes) On-road tires (small tread) Off road tires (knobby tread) Screenshot from Crescents website (20-3-2013) 7 source: http://www.crescent.se/cyklar/#filter=&category=junior-barn&product= 1.2 Scope of the problem area The work has been limited to designing the bicycle and seat for children aged seven to ten years old. I have chosen not to seek cooperation with an external partner in this project because I do not want to be tied to corporate identities and guidelines. A functioning prototype is the goal of the project. Some components have been chosen and ordered from suppliers such as: handlebar, grips, rims, tires, fork, lights and fenders. The frame and seat will be made from my design in the school workshops. 1.3 Issues Can one by mixing gender markers create a bicycle design for children that is desired by both boys and girls and by so doing create a androgynous bicycle that will contribute to change the structure and perception of a gender among the target group? 1.4 Goals and objectives The goal is to create an artifact that meets the group’s needs of a good and flexible children´s bicycle and give the artifact a clear design language which clearly shows that this is not a boys or girls bike but a bicycle for children. I want to challenge the gender stereotype world of bicycles for children by creating an artifact that does not fall into these patterns by mixing form elements that are seen as female and male and by so doing creating an androgynous bike that appeals to both sexes without repeating earlier examples of unisex models; to make the move from gender bike to a child’s bike. 8 2. Theory and Method bicycles, consumption, cultural studies and research with children. Books that have been of help in understanding gender issues and in supporting my project are Raewyn Connell´s Om Genus (2003); Fanny 2.1 Practical feasibility study Ambjörnsson´s Rosa: den farliga färgen (2011); Magdalena Petersson McIntyre´s Bara den inte blir rosa: genus, design och konsumtion I The pilot study took the form of visits to the bike retailers, reading, ett svenskt idustriproject (2010); Valerie Walkerdine ´s Daddy’s girl: information searching on the Internet, interviews and meetings with young girls and popular culture (1997); Linda Fagerström´s Kön, the target group, meetings, e-mail contacts and telephone conversations genus och design: om en designerroll i förändring (2010); Fanny with users, experts and supervisors.